Teaching at BKC

BKC IH Curriculum

At BKC we offer a wide variety of courses for all ages and levels. The needs of students vary according to the age-group and learning context however the methodology we use, the Communicative Approach, is standard across the curriculum. This methodology started in the 1970s and it is the model used on initial teacher training courses like the CELTA. The basic theory behind the Communicative Approach is that language is learned in a social-linguistic context and that the classroom should reflect this. The lesson is structured so that the teacher presents new language, students practise it in a controlled way and then produce it fluently. A typical communicative lesson is structured like this: teachers present new vocabulary or grammar in a realistic and interesting setting, for example using pictures or demonstration; students practise the language in exercises while the teacher checks; fluency activities like role-plays and story telling allow the students to produce the language. The teacher's role is to feed in new language, monitor activities and correct errors. The student's role is to use the new language as fluently and accurately as possible.

The basic features of the Communicative Approach, namely a high degree of learner participation and contextualisation of new language, are applicable to all the courses we offer. The following is a brief summary of the age groups we teach, course structures, and the books we use. While most of a teacher's timetable usually involves teaching adults, almost every teacher will also be required to teach some young learner classes.

The youngest students we teach are aged from 3 to 6. We use the coursebook 'Playway'. However, teachers also need to spend a lot of time adapting the coursebook and making their own materials. Moreover, we recognise that teaching this age group is quite difficult, and so we never force a teacher to work in Playgroups unless they have previous experience with this age group, or are very interested in teaching very young learners. Moreover, we recognize that teaching these classes requires a great deal of preparation, and so teachers with Playgroup classes have a reduced workload of other classes.

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Young learners can be divided into three age groups; students from 7-9, from 10-13 and teenagers from 13 to 16. In response to feedback from teachers, we have recently decided to change many of our coursebooks. Children from 7-9 will continue to use 'I Spy', but older children, from 10-13, will use the 'Project' series. If they are intermediate or upper intermediate, they will use the 'All Stars' series.

Teenagers, however, use various adult books, depending on their level. Beginners start off with 'Headstart' while higher levels, from elementary to upper intermediate, use the "English File' series.

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Our adult beginners start off with 'Headway' but for elementary and pre-intermediate they use 'English File'. They then change to the 'Cutting Edge' series for intermediate and upper-intermediate and our advanced students use 'Inside Out'. Those students who wish to take exam classes use FCE, CAE and CPE Gold. We also run other exam classes, such as IELTS, TOEFL and GMAT. There are many other types of classes also, such as Business English, Conversation Classes and Intensive Classes.

Adult course last 6 months, and this six-month period is divided into three sections (e.g. Intermediate 1, 2, and 3); Exam Preparation classes are usually 9 months. Classes are 90 minutes if students study three times a week.

Unlike most language schools, where courses start at the beginning of the academic year and finish at the end of it, in BKC-IH, a course can start and finish at any time. This allows us to respond more flexibly to student demand. However, having said that, the most popular times for courses to begin is September/October and January/February.

To help teachers keep on track, they are provided with pacing schedules for each level, which will tell the teacher in what part of the book he should be at any time, and let them know when the next exam should take place.

BKC-IH is by far the biggest language school in Moscow, and we have about 30 locations. The bigger schools are in the centre, with about 50 groups in each school, but we also have over 20 smaller satellite schools.

A typical teacher's timetable will require him or her to teach in both Central Moscow and satellites schools, so teachers should come prepared for some traveling between the different locations. An average schedule consists of 3 classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 2 classes on Tuesday and Thursday.